


Subject K

by KTechnicolour



Category: The Yogscast, Yoglabs - Fandom
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-10
Updated: 2017-08-11
Packaged: 2018-12-13 16:42:15
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,154
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11764071
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KTechnicolour/pseuds/KTechnicolour





	1. Welcome To Yoglabs

_“I Warned you Xephos…”_

_The spaceman lay in the dust, coughing and desperately trying to blink the world back into focus. Golden auras rose like smoke after a fire from the twisted metal and debris that once formed the cloning lab.  
Everything still hazy and ringing in his ears, he could barely make out the tall copper haired man looming above him, The man’s eyes ablaze with fury._

_“I said cloning my kind would be impossible. But once again your failure to heed my warnings has led to chaos.”_

_Ridgedog floated above Xephos, Shadowed by the emanating glow from behind him._

_“Just because you lost someone, that doesn't make cloning everyone the answer.”_

_As the demigod phased away his words swirled in the spaceman’s mind;_

_“No one can live forever.”_

\--

“Sir?” the intercom on xephos’ desk crackled into life. “We've had some developments on project divinity”  
That instantly caught Xephos’ attention and he darted forward in his desk chair for the answer button.

“Yes? Has the new method worked? Are they stable? I haven't heard any explosions?”

“You should probably come take a look sir.”

“I’ll be right there.”

He’d barely finished his sentence before he’d marched out of his office and down the hall past a very confused Head of propaganda. Turps, who hadn't even had a chance to knock before the door had opened, had been hastily pushed aside. 

“Sir, We've had reports-” Turps huffed as he jogged down the corridor after Xephos who was striding confidently at full speed down the halls.

“Leave it on my desk, I’ve more important matters to attend to.”

“But sir, We could lose funding, The government reports are-”

“Don't worry about it! Just send the press the information on Project Hula-Hoop and dazzle them with your usual wit and charisma.”

By now Turps had become a master of avoiding questions and dazzling the local news reporters with the company's new breakthroughs and innovations. He was pretty sure YogLabs would’ve fallen apart years ago without his media redirection and Television charm.

“I’ll get right on it”

“Thank you, friend” Xephos half smiled, his mind clearly on other matters as he waved Turps off and turned down the corridor to the cloning department.  
As he crossed the walkway overlooking the clone storage, he could see the Vats containing the master clones for a bunch of the employees, including one right at the front. The occupant's fiery beard and sad smile sent shivers down the spaceman's spine as his own words echoed in his head; “The price of immortality is death.” He huffed at his own naivety. With the systems and technology YogLabs possessed, immortality was easy.  
He quickly shook away the thoughts and continued on heading straight to a large set of metal doors marked “Experimental Cloning” This section was highly restricted and used for the development of new clones, clones of unstable species and more. So far, the labs had only mastered cloning for humans, dwarves and most animals… So far.

“Sir” The testificate leading the project shoved a folder of papers into Xephos hands as he approached. “We've had a few complications with the project” the testificate continued as Xephos impatiently flicked through scans and documents. “As you know we've had issues with stability and survival rates have been low.” 

Xephos glared at him raising an eyebrow, clearly wanting to get to the point. “Last time you reported back survival rates were zero.”

“Well, we've had a surviving subject but-”

“”Then why are we standing here! Show me!” Xephos exclaimed discarding the paperwork and storming into the main section of the wing.

The walls were lined with large vats, some of which were smashed and cordoned off. Failed subjects. Some held twisted and deformed figures. More failures. However, 10 vats down contained a humanoid figure. The vat was surrounded by machines, monitors, and busy testificates measuring every possible signs of life. Electrical impulses, blood sugar levels, brain activity, heartbeat.

Heartbeat.

“The scans showed 2 hearts? they're supposed to have two hearts. Two heartbeats right?”

“That’s what I was getting to sir. It seems there's only one working. We believe it's partially why this subject has survived without the same power burnout as the other subjects”

“But what does that mean for the project. Has it worked? Or have we managed to just clone a human with a useless binary circulatory system?” He almost spat the words with disgust. Xephos’ patience was wearing thin with the project after so many failures. He hated having to deal with working through testificates after the disappearance of the cloning department’s chief scientist. The deal of ‘no clones’ seemed like a bad idea all along, but it had been the only way to get him to work for the company in the first place, and Lalna, even a defective clone, was an asset the labs needed. Xephos had tried working with the head of bio-engineering, but after giving the subject a set of retractable tentacles and splicing in tyrannosaurus DNA, he'd decided against the overly eccentric doctor.

“From our studies and understanding from the original, the second heart controls the flow of powers, or ‘magic’ if you'll excuse the term.” Xephos rolled his eyes, testificates weren't as open minded about the magical properties the world around them held. “So were we to release the subject from our incubation vat, we believe they’d be completely powerless”

“Have you tried?”

The scientist looked shocked, and an audible perturbation fell over the other workers.

“Sir, many of these subjects have been highly unstable. I believe it would be safest to-”

“Since when has our main goal been safety?” scoffed Xephos as he barged forward and entered the code to drain and open the vat. The testificates staring with dumbfounded expressions.

As the vat drained the subject inside dropped to the floor of the container, coughing and spluttering as the glass tube lifted up into a hidden compartment above.

She looked up, blinking the sticky liquid out of her eyes. They were met with bright blue eyes staring back at her, accompanied by a warm smile and an outstretched hand.

“Subject K? Welcome to YogLabs.”


	2. KTech

The next few weeks were a continuous barrage of tests and questions, none of which Subject K could find answers to. She’d only managed to find out the basics about her surroundings and the strange bright eyed man who’d welcomed her after what must have been a long slumber.

“What can you remember?”

“Nothing.”

“Nothing at all?”

“Nothing except waking up in that strange room with Xephos there.”

Some of the tests seemed oddly bizarre, and K quickly cottoned on they were comparing her to someone they clearly didn't have much knowledge of. Tests like trying to make herself levitate, or summoning objects from thin air. She didn’t remember anything, but she had a pretty good hunch they were asking for the impossible. Whoever this ‘Ridgedog’ was he sounded like someone not to be messed with.

“How the hell am I supposed to do this!?” K complained, concentrating hard enough to give herself a headache. “Can’t anyone show me how to do this?”

“If we could do this, we wouldn't have bothered making you.”

K huffed at the unneeded remark.

“I didn't ask to be made! The least you could do is have a little patience when asking me to do the impossible! Or maybe cut me some slack and treat me like a person, instead of some... _thing_.” It had been 2 weeks now and K was getting sick of the testificates constant prodding, and poking, both physically and verbally. “ _Subject K…_ ” She spat the words. “That's not even a proper name.”

“Then what would you prefer?”

K had been making such a fuss she’d not noticed the head of YogLabs enter the Physical Therapy Gym. She had barely seen the man since their brief meeting 2 weeks back, he had observed some of the early tests but clearly her lack of any improvement had bored the busy man. She was totally taken aback by his arrival and the question that came with it, stuttering slightly.

“Well… I… uhh…”

“Then Subject K will have to do.” Xephos smiled almost challengingly.

“No! I wanna be called something else!” She looked around desperately for any kind of inspiration. _Ladders. Climbing wall. Clock. Pool._ there had to be something. _Door. Hall._ Her eyes slowed as they flicked over the bright coloured lines that she'd seen all over the facility painting the dull metal walls and floors with a technicoloured rainbow. “...technicolour…”  she mumbled under her breath.

“Technicolour?” Xephos echoed questioningly.

“KTechnicolour.” she added slightly louder, her voice still wobbling slightly with unsurety.

Xephos let out a small chuckle, “Well that's barely a name either, Subject K.”

“But it’s mine.” She tried to stand straight, looking confident, and for the most part it worked. But she did look slightly like a little kid trying to get their own way.

“Have it your way.” Xephos waved, turning to one of the testificates, taking the folder from their hands.

“Can always shorten it to KTech if that's easier… _Xeph_.”

Xephos huffed, clearly amused by KTech’s antics. This one was going to be interesting.

\--  
“Report?”

The testificate running the program almost jogged beside Xephos trying to keep up with his trademark confident striding. “She seems to be stable. However we still haven't found a way to start her second heart yet. We've tried everything we can think of.”

“And she's still showing no signs of possessing any of her predecessors abilities...”

“I'm afraid there's not much more we can do. This is another failure.”

“There's always something more.” Xephos had a plan. But he knew the risks. He could still remember the explosion from last time, but he couldn't see another option. K was the closest they had come so far, the first survivor. This had to be it. “Walk with me.”

Xephos led the testificate down past the black storage sections of YogLabs to an unused elevator. He brushed the dust off of the panel and punched in the code for the door. The testificate stayed silent as they walked in and the lift hummed into life, knowing the dangers that were held in some of the higher restricted sections of the facility.

The lift stopped and the doors creaked open to a dusty storage room, clearly unused for a long time. Xephos lead the way to a back corner of the dim room. A faint glow leaked out beneath a ragged tarpaulin.

“What is this?” the testificates curiosity finally overcame the uncomfortable silence.

Usually Xephos wouldn't have brought a low level employee down to such a high clearance section, but he was getting desperate with the project. YogLabs had its way of having people conveniently forget things or disappear when needed. So Xephos decided to roll with it, rather than deal with the million questions and lack of compliance he’d have had to deal with otherwise.

“We founded YogLabs on what we found of an old facility.” Xephos pulled away the Tarp, revealing several large glowing vats of golden radiating liquid. “We found these along with Subject K’s predecessor.”

“But… what are they?” asked the testificate who was in awe of the strange luminous substance.

“Magic.”

“Magic?” the testificate tried his best to hide his clear sense of scepticism.

“Pure liquefied magic energy. The Facility that stood here before our labs hooked up Ridgedog like a generator. Think of these as batteries.”

“Who would do-”

“Perhaps this may be the answer to starting subject K’s second heart.” Xephos’ determined smile seemed uncomfortably eerie in the sickly yellow light.

\--

“What is this stuff?” normally KTech knew not to ask, but for Xephos to be overseeing this himself, it had to be important.

“This should help you with the testing.” one of the testificates replied, not actually answering her question. Her next question she directed at Xephos instead.

“Is this going to start my other heart?” after weeks of being stuck in a room with all her test results and documentation it was no surprise to Xephos that she had an idea of what was going on. Unlike the testificates of course who weren't sure how to handle the question.

“That's what we're hoping.”

KTech watched uncomfortably as a small canister of glowing fluid was hung on an IV rack.

“And if it doesn't? What else could this stuff do?”

“Don't worry about it.” Xephos’ calm smile only worked to amplify KTech’s concern.

She winced as the needle pierced her arm. The strange liquid felt warm under her skin, a warmth that slowly spread up her arm until it reached her chest. 

Then it hit her.


	3. Home

_The red-haired girl sat patiently by the forest's edge, watching the sun set over the village. Her supplies were beginning to run low so another raid was in order, and what better place to steal from than the town that cast her out? It was almost ironic that in a strange way they looked after her. Their farms kept her fed, their blacksmiths’ weapons kept her safe from monsters, and their clothes hung out so neatly on washing lines were just begging to provide her with warmth._

_The woods began to moan as zombies and skeletons crawled out of holes and caves to begin their nightly wander, helpfully ensuring the villagers would stay inside during her looting session._

_Time to go._

_She darted down the hill, weaving through the slow moving huddle of zombies shambling towards the houses. They'll keep the villagers busy._

_Heading straight to the farms she took up a bunch of vegetables before hopping over the fence into the pigpen. Stealing the fresh cuts of meat would have been much easier, but this way she could make it look like wolves and avoid unneeded suspicion._

_Stuffing a particularly hefty looking blanket from one of the garden lines into her sack, she suddenly stopped. Something was off._

_She’d made this trip a bunch of times so it wasn't hard to notice what was suddenly missing. It was quiet. The usual banging and moaning from the zombies feeble attempts at breaking in, were oddly absent, instead replaced by the sound of footsteps. Too uniformed for zombies. Too light for the villagers._

_She wasn't the only one who pinned this place as a good target. Spinning around quickly as she could, she caught a fleeting glimpse of a man in a flak jacket and gas mask, before a large blunt object collided with the side of her head._

\--

It felt like an explosion in her chest as KTech’s second heart began pounding, both of them thumping almost deafeningly in her ears. The warm sensation was replaced with one of burning, a raging heat that blazed beneath her skin. Her vision blurred, she could just about make out the panicked faces of the testificates as they darted around. Her mind began flooding with memories; that village, how they'd tried to kill her, How they’d exiled her, The raids, And that night she was taken. Her vision wavered, and she caught a sudden glimpse of Xephos, his expression was almost alien to her. Was that... concern? The villagers had never shown concern, or care. That village. That damned village. They would pay.

“At this rate she’ll burn out like the others!”

“Her heart rates are way too high!”

The testificates raced back and forth, demanding for supplies from the medical wing, while Xephos watched on.

“Come on…. Not another failure. We’re so close.”

“ _cloning my kind would be impossible_ ” ridges words echoed in his head. But she wasn't a direct clone. This is YogLabs. There is always a way, and this had to be it.

KTech’s eyes began glowing with the same luminosity of the strange liquid.

“This energy is too much! She’s gonna burn like the early ones! Sir, what should we do!?” the testificates helplessly begged Xephos for guidance while others ran, but the spaceman remained still, his bright blue eyes fixed with determination.

A sudden explosion of light and force blew Xephos and the testificates back leaving a large hole which punched all the way out to the night sky above. KTech was gone, leaving a trail of gold mist in her wake.

\--

Xephos ran to the armoury putting on his coat, grabbing his trusty sword and startling the recruits who’d jumped out of their skins as the boss barged in on them slacking off.

“What’s happened sir!?”

“Is it the government again?”

“What did we do this time?” the men questioned as Xephos slung on his personal jetpack.

Xephos didn't answer, insteading flashing a quick smile. “Don't worry about it!” and with that he was already out of the room heading for the facility’s exit.

The night air was chilly as he flew up out of the labs and Xephos spotted what he was looking for almost immediately; an ominous orange glow just over the eastern horizon.

\--

As Xephos neared the village the buildings blazed with fire, the heat almost too immense to get close. He could see KTech floating above the village center, chunks of rocks and buildings levitating around her. He’d seen this before, and as the clouds above began to flicker with static, Xephos knew he had to calm her, quickly.

He flew as close as the inferno below would allow, “Subject K! Listen to me!” He shouted over the roaring flames. “You need to calm down!”

“These people deserved this.” Her voice was oddly calm, as if she were speaking normally yet Xephos could hear her clearly over the noise.

“You've destroyed an entire village! You're not thinking clearly. Please! Calm down before you spiral out of control! You're going to die!”

“So? I’ve got no home. No family. No one needs me.” Xephos could just make out tears glistening on her face in the light. Xephos knew the feeling of no home… no family. The spaceman had been off world when his planet was destroyed taking everything he knew along with it. But he’d found a new world to call home. And a new, albeit rather odd family.

“YogLabs is your home! And we need you Subject K…. _KTech_ , please.”

And with that, the fires eased, the hovering rocks and debris falling to the ground, along with an unconscious KTech. 

Xephos dived into the smoke after her.

\--

A sudden jolt brought KTech back to consciousness. A cold breeze told her she was outside, and she shook her head trying to make sense of the fuzz and what was happening. “What happened… where am I?” she looked around, realising she was being carried by Xephos, who smiled down at her then gestured to something ahead of them.

A cobble path and wooden bridge led up to a huge round metal door set in the mountainside, it seemed to reach up almost high enough for the trees above to touch the clouds.

“Welcome home.”


End file.
